This is a very special Wild Card Edition of The Mouth-Off podcast! The penultimate speaker at every taping of the show is an audience volunteer chosen at random. They get a 5-minute limit on the theme of the night, and so often, we get some pretty surprising, powerful stories.

Brace yourself for three stories. We’ll get started with a bang thanks to Azua Echevarria. Check out her great work at www.etsy.com/shop/ReworkCreative, and on Instagram at @azuaintuition, @rework_creative, @ageintobeauty, @2doperags, and @wildwomantwinflame. She is a BUSY human being!

The next story is from Lena DiGenti. Lena is a foster and adoption advocate whose unconventional upbringing fueled her passion for helping people and organizations develop into their best unique selves. Her story was from February of 2018, and the theme was “It’s an Emergency”.

Our final wild card of this episode is from Mark Zipadelli. Mark is a Business Analytics Lead Analyst at Cigna, AND a kickass ballroom dancer. His story was from April of 2016, and the theme was “April Fools! Stories about getting duped”

You should know that you’ll hear some adult themes and DEFINITELY some profanity, which, at the mouth-off, is allowed and encouraged.

Wanna see the show? Visit www.marktwainhouse.org/mouthoff and email your story pitches to MouthOffHartford@gmail.com up to two weeks before the event.

Support The Mouth-Off with Chion Wolf by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/themouthoff

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-a652f3 for 40% off for 4 months, and support The Mouth-Off with Chion Wolf.

Our first story in this episode is from Rand Richards Cooper. He’s the author of The Last to Go and Big As Life. His writing has appeared in Harper’s, GQ, Esquire, The Altantic, Bon Appétit and the New York Times, and Hartford Magazine. He lives in Hartford with his wife, Molly, and daughter, Larkin.

His story is from our June, 2014 show, and the theme was “The Fame and the Fame-ish: Brushes with Celebrity”.

Next up is Becky Beth Benedict. Becky Beth is a farmer’s daughter and theater teacher, originally from North Dakota.

Her story is from the September 2013 show, and the theme was “Luck & Serendipity”.

Want to tell a story? Check out our show's dates and themes at www.marktwainhouse.org/mouthoff. Email your story summary to MouthOffHartford@gmail.com.

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Our first story is from Jen Montgomery. She’s an ethics attorney, poet, writer, part-time adventurer, and mama who hates cake and loves pie. She says she’s teaching herself how to bake bread, practice kindness, and fight the patriarchy. Jen’s story was from the April 2016 show, with the aptly-themed “April Fools!”

Then, we’ve got Katie Kelly! She writes screenplays and works in Development at Trinity College in Hartford, and her story - with some profanity, you should know - was from our September, 2015 show. The theme was “Caught In The Act: Stories About NOT Getting Away With It”

For tickets to the show and info on how you can tell a story, visit www.marktwainhouse.org/mouthoff.

Support The Mouth-Off with Chion Wolf by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/themouthoff

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

First up, we’ve got a story from Michael Shelby. Michael is the President and CEO of Shall BE Llc, and an addiction counselor at Rushford and The Center for Internet and Technology addiction. In his spare time he loves performing Improv, travelling, comedy and reading.

Michael’s story was from September of 2018, and the theme was “It Happened So Fast”.

This next one is from me! I do love the challenge of coming up with a story for each and every one of these shows, but I didn’t know I would be telling this one until just a couple of days beforehand. This is from the September 2019 installment of The Mouth-Off, and the theme was “The ONE Time…”

Support The Mouth-Off with Chion Wolf by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/themouthoff

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Let’s get started with a story from Adam Prizio. He’s an attorney, writer, and disability rights advocate who lives in Hartford, CT. This is from the first ever Mouth-Off, back in February of 2013, and the theme was “Love”.

Next, we’ve got Lucy Ferris. She is a writer-in-residence at Trinity College, and author of many books, including her latest, “A Sister to Honor”. She’s a regular contributor to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Lingua Franca blog, and you can find all of her work at http://lucyferriss.com She told her story in April of 2014, and the theme was “Punching the Clock: Stories about Work”.

Support The Mouth-Off with Chion Wolf by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/themouthoff

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

First up? The one and only Larry Elsner. Along with making the best beef jerky in the world, he owns and operates a driving service. As you’ll hear, that kind of work brings him a LOT of stories! In fact, you’re about to hear TWO stories of his from two different recordings of The Mouth-Off. The first was from the June 9, 2017, and the theme was “Take My Advice”. The second was from April 2018, and the theme was “Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time”

Oh and know that throughout this whole episode, you’ll hear some heartfelt profanity.

Next up, we remember John Farrell, also known as “Fast Jack”. He died on August first at his home in Manchester.

I first met Fast Jack when he was on The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio, where I work. While he was there, he set up a table to show us how he’d use sleight of hand and distraction to fool his card game opponents. We were easy targets in that newsroom, but as you’ll hear in his story, conning people is not for the faint of heart.

He was our featured speaker at the September 2015 show, and the theme was “Caught in the Act: Stories About NOT Getting Away With It”.

Support The Mouth-Off with Chion Wolf by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/themouthoff

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Our first story is from Betsy Rose. She’s worked in child care for over 35 years, which she credits with keeping her young and with a sense of humor. She has belonged to the Connecticut Storytelling Association and a local storytelling group, Hither and Yon.

Betsy’s story was from June of 2015, and the theme was “On Vacation”

Our next storyteller is Brian Jones. I wanted to release his story now, to honor his life - Brian died at his home in Glastonbury on July 4, 2019.

Brian was Connecticut’s State Archaeologist and associated with the Department of Anthropology at UConn.

He was particularly interested in studying the peopling of the New World and stone tool analysis, and he had recently made the archaeology of 17th Century Connecticut one of his top priorities. He was also a loving friend, husband, father, mentor, student, helper, interpreter, traveler, drummer, martial-artist, philosopher, and outstanding storyteller.

His wife Margaret, wrote to me to add this:

“Brian's telling of this story reveals so much about him. He was both a scientist and a spiritual person, and those seemingly contradictory sides of him are so evident here. He was also incredibly brilliant but down to earth at the same time. Knowing him made me a better person. Now that he's gone, I follow his path by trying to be more patient, more curious, more aware of the natural world, and more conscious of the beauty in all living things. I hope that anyone hearing this story can take away that same sense of wonder and connection with other living things.”

Enjoy Brian’s story from November of 2015. The theme was “You Animal! Stories About Encounters With Beasts, Both Foreign & Domestic”.

Support The Mouth-Off with Chion Wolf by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/themouthoff

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

First up, we’ve got a story from Christine Kalafus. She’s an instructor at Westport Writers’ Workshop, and the author of the Connecticut-based memoir, Blueprint for Daylight, an experimental poem of loss, “Horses,” Her story was from our April 2015 show, and the theme was “Thrown for a Loop”.

Next up is Matthew Dicks. Matthew is a powerhouse of a storyteller. He is a 39-time Moth StorySLAM champion, and 6-time GrandSLAM champion whose stories have been featured on their nationally syndicated Moth Radio Hour and their weekly podcast.

Matthew Dicks, by the way, literally wrote the book on storytelling: It’s called “Storyworthy”, and whether you wanna get as good at this as he is, or if you could use even ONE great tip for connecting with people, GET THIS BOOK. I’ve read it twice, and will probably be learning for it for the rest of my life. And if you wanna see him live - in between Mouth-Off shows, of course - Along with his wife, Elysha, Matthew runs Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization.
Their shows often sell out, so find them and get tickets to whatever they’re doing next as soon as you can. Oh and they have a podcast too, where they feature stories from their show and talk about what worked - and what didn’t. so look up Speak Up and subscribe.

Tell your story at one of our live shows! Dates, themes, tickets, and swag are at marktwainhouse.org/mouthoff.

At that site, you’ll also see all the other cool stuff Twain has going on. In addition to funny and fascinating house tours, Twain’s tradition of storytelling continues with writing classes and workshops, chances to write in Mark Twain’s library, and the popular Mark My Words series, where authors from around the world come to talk about how current issues are colliding with their work. Follow The Twain House on Facebook and sign up for the newsletter at MarkTwainHouse.org.

The Mouth-Off is hosted and produced by me, Chion Wolf, with help from Jennifer LaRue. Learn about my other shows chionwolf.com, on twitter and Instagram at @ChionWolf, and on Facebook at Chion Wolf Productions. You can help all this storytelling flourish at www.Patreon.com/chionwolf.

Imagine the story you’ll tell about being a sponsor for the Mouth-Off podcast! For rates, Email mouthOffHartford@gmail.com.

Till next time - whatever happens, make it a good story!

Support The Mouth-Off with Chion Wolf by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/themouthoff

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Kerri Noack's bio reads like this: "With his love for the sound of the road passing beneath him and the adventures it would entail, Kerri Noack would continue the saga he’d known all his life. With nothing more than a map on the floor and a steady gaze, he’d someday find the home that somewhere awaits him."

This is his story from April of 2016, and the theme was “April Fools - Stories About Getting Duped”.

Next up? Joan Walden. Here’s her bio:

“My love of stories — listening and telling them — comes from my dad. He had the soul of a performer, but the Great Depression had other plans for him, and to support his family, he became a dental technician. I remember that whenever he would run into his friends, they would say, 'Tell us a story, Charlie.' And he would. As a faculty member at Central CT State University’s Communication Department, I have the opportunity to tell stories to my students that inform, instruct, and, when the stars are in alignment, entertain. At those times, I feel as though I am channeling my dad."

Joan's story is from our June, 2013 show. The theme was “Father’s Day”.

Tell your story at one of our live shows! Dates, themes, tickets, and swag are at marktwainhouse.org/mouthoff.

At that site, you’ll also see all the other cool stuff Twain has going on. In addition to funny and fascinating house tours, Twain’s tradition of storytelling continues with writing classes and workshops, chances to write in Mark Twain’s library, and the popular Mark My Words series, where authors from around the world come to talk about how current issues are colliding with their work. Follow The Twain House on Facebook and sign up for the newsletter at MarkTwainHouse.org.

The Mouth-Off is hosted and produced by me, Chion Wolf, with help from Jennifer LaRue. Learn about my other shows chionwolf.com, on twitter and Instagram at @ChionWolf, and on Facebook at Chion Wolf Productions. You can help all this storytelling flourish at www.Patreon.com/chionwolf.

Imagine the story you’ll tell about being a sponsor for the Mouth-Off podcast! For rates, Email mouthOffHartford@gmail.com.

Till next time - whatever happens, make it a good story!

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co

Let’s kick off this episode with a story from Greg Garcia, a high school English teacher, musician, artist, and self-described miscreant. It’s from September 2015, and the theme was "Caught in the Act: Stories About NOT Getting Away With It".

Next, meet Addison Beaux, a writer and storyteller who became internet famous after TSA gave him the nicest pat-down in the history of airport security. His story is from September of 2016, and the theme was "Marked For Life: How You Got That Scar".

NOTE: There's lots of profanity in this episode.

Tell your story at one of our live shows! Dates, themes, tickets, and swag are at marktwainhouse.org/mouthoff.

At that site, you’ll also see all the other cool stuff Twain has going on. In addition to funny and fascinating house tours, Twain’s tradition of storytelling continues with writing classes and workshops, chances to write in Mark Twain’s library, and the popular Mark My Words series, where authors from around the world come to talk about how current issues are colliding with their work. Follow The Twain House on Facebook and sign up for the newsletter at MarkTwainHouse.org.

The Mouth-Off is hosted and produced by me, Chion Wolf, with help from Jennifer LaRue. Learn about my other shows chionwolf.com, on twitter and Instagram at @ChionWolf, and on Facebook at Chion Wolf Productions. You can help all this storytelling flourish at www.Patreon.com/chionwolf.

Imagine the story you’ll tell about being a sponsor for the Mouth-Off podcast! For rates, Email mouthOffHartford@gmail.com.

Till next time - whatever happens, make it a good story!

Find out more at https://themouthoff.pinecast.co